


hello my old heart

by mydinosaurlife



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Death, Have Fun!, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe hopefully, Mental illness struggles, Multi, Nuzlocke Challenge, Pokemon HeartGold Version, a lot of it, bc like i said im writing this blind, bc sending 11 year olds out to live alone, because i suck at nuzlocking, btw the pairing is there but it definitely wont be the main focus bc i suck at writing romance, but like i guess itll be implied in some place, but then it gets better, depictions of ptsd, ill be just as surprised as you are, im updating this as i play which is a bad idea, in a world full of dangerous magical animals, is shitty parenting, it probably gets worse, mc is 16 and silver is 17, title and description to be updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29918586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mydinosaurlife/pseuds/mydinosaurlife
Summary: when callie moved from kanto to johto after a traumatic incident that changed her life, she never thought that she would get the second chance she needed. she certainly didn’t think it would come in the form of a gruff and oversized chikorita chasing down a thief. and after learning of a legendary pokemon with the power to revive the dead, she makes it her mission to meet this pokémon and accomplish something her troubled mind had only ever dreamed of.maybe her turbulent second chance would provide the healing she needed, too.based on a run of pokemon heartgold, being updated as it is played. this could get messy.
Relationships: Kotone | Lyra/Silver, Silver (Pokemon)/Original Female Character(s)





	1. no second glance

**Author's Note:**

> so i know that written/story runs are a bit less popular than comic runs but i wanted to try my hand at it anyways. mostly because i don’t have the patience nor energy to learn how to make comics and then draw the same characters for 1000+ panels. i don’t have any fancy equipment either, just my phone and medibang and i doubt my phone could handle long pages. this run might have some art sprinkled in, during pokemon introductions and important scenes, but the writing will be the main focus. i’m also making this to help improve my writing and character interactions overall since i feel like i lack in those areas. also, this run is unique in that i’m writing the story as i play. i know it isn’t very practical, that i should take notes and such, but i haven’t the attention span nor energy for something like that. story beats and characters are subject to change thanks to this, so consider this to be my nuzlocke notes, just written in the form of a story. that said, i hope you enjoy the ride for what it is.

Cold sunlight filtered through the hastily drawn curtains of Callie’s room, waking her up. She blearily opened her eyes, stretching and yawning, and looked over at the Pokégear sitting on her nightstand.

24 missed messages and calls. All from Professor Elm. He had never acted the most, well, professional at his job.

Her eyes flew open at this, immediately wide awake. _Oh shit._

She’d completely forgotten that today was supposed to be the day she got her trainer’s license. According to her Pokégear, it was just past 1pm. Meaning she was late.

Callie had never been the most punctual, but on a day like this? She hopped out of bed as fast as she could manage, hastily scraping together an outfit. Overalls and a striped long sleeve shirt with black tights and sneakers. It was tacky, and dull, to say the least, but she had no time to question her fashion choices as she grabbed her Pokégear and flew down the stairs, nearly running into the wall.

Her mom was in the kitchen, giving Callie a slightly amused look as she staggered back on balance. “Aren’t you in a hurry.”

“Mom!” the teen snapped. “Why didn’t you wake me up??”

“You’re 16, you should be able to get up on your own by now. Didn’t you set an alarm?”

“It didn’t go off!” 

Her mom sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “We need to get that old thing fixed. Do you want something to eat before you go?”

“No thanks! I don’t wanna be even later than I already am!” Callie, having been running in place in agitation, booked it for the door. “Love you mom! I’ll see you when I get home!” she called over her shoulder as she flew out the door.

Her mom let out another sigh, hands planted on her hips. “That girl….what’ll I ever do with her….hopefully getting a Pokémon will finally teach her a thing or two about responsibility!”

  
  


Callie’s feet pounded the sidewalk as she ran breathlessly through the streets of New Bark Town. Professor Elm’s lab was only a couple blocks away, and she’d lost count of how many times she’d made the trip, to learn about and play with the Pokémon who lived at the facility. Elm was a close family friend, and the lab was like a second home to her.

Tripping over a raised edge in the sidewalk, she nearly careened into the concrete, but she hastily picked herself up before any major damage was done. Thankfully. Her relief was short lived, however, as she was almost immediately knocked over again as someone ran into her.

“Hey!” she snapped, picking herself up. “What’s the big ide—“ she broke off as the stranger, a red haired boy that looked to be about her age and maybe a year older, gave her a chilling glare. “Out of my way.” he hissed. Callie flinched before returning with a glare of her own. “What’s the rush, asshole?” she balled her fists. “At least apologize or something!”

The stranger ignored her, giving her another shove as he brushed past her in the opposite direction. She readied a string of insults to throw at him but was silenced as something _else_ ran into her. She let out a yelp as she was sent towards the rough and unforgiving ground for the second time that day, but was stopped as a pair of vines wrapped around her waist and pulled her back to her feet.

A Chikorita came up next to her, glaring in the direction the red haired boy had gone. Callie recognized it as one of the starter Pokémon Elm gave to trainers who had received their license. She had seen him before while playing with and learning about the Pokémon that lived in the lab, but he was stoic and mostly kept his distance. This Chikorita in particular lacked the soft baby-faced features that were standard for its species. His face was contorted into a look of fury, and he was larger than any Chikorita she’d seen. His face was marred by scars— one above his left eye, and another at the base of its neck, just above the thorny collar he sported.

Geronimo

male Chikorita

met at level 5

brave nature, somewhat vain

“Did you see someone run through here?” He grunted.

“What?” Callie blinked, before hastily shaking her head. “Yeah! Some redhead came through just a minute ago! He was really rude, might I add, knocking me to the ground before yelling at _me_ for getting in his way. Seriously, the nerve of—“

The Chikorita interrupted her rant by placing a vine over her mouth. “That kid is a thief! He stole something precious from the lab!”

“Wh-What?!” Callie’s eyes widened and she looked over in the direction of the lab. It was still a little ways away, so she couldn’t quite see it, but….

“Yeah! Just a minute ago. He swiped an egg and….” The Chikorita mustered up another glare on his face, directing it towards the ground. “Nevermind that! We have to get them back.”

“Uh— right!” Callie nodded. “Let me go with you. I was supposed to go to the lab today anyways to get my trainer’s license, but I guess that can wait...“ she trailed off. The Chikorita was a few yards ahead of her, having barreled off at the words ‘let me go with you’. Callie hastily gave chase.

Route 29

“The name’s Geronimo by the way.” The Chikorita panted once Callie had caught up to him. He hadn’t slowed his gait even though it was evident that he was tired from running so hard. Callie kept pace with him.

“Callie. My name is Callie.” she mumbled back. “Nice to meet you.”

Geronimo gave a nod, not saying anything else to save his breath. They reached the edge of Cherrygrove City, spotting the boy making his way towards a crowd. Geronimo let out a growl, speeding up to tackle the thief’s legs. He let out a yell of surprise as something flew from his hands. The egg.

Such a precious thing couldn’t be dropped. Callie winced internally as she imagined it splitting against the ground. No, something had to be done. Before she could even think she found her body moving on its own, diving towards the egg, arms outstretched to catch it just before it hit the ground. She let out a grunt as her body absorbed most of the impact, leaving the egg unharmed. She sat up, ignoring the pain that shot up the side she’d landed on. That was sure to leave a nasty bruise.

Geronimo was facing off with the boy, growling as viciously as a Chikorita even could. Which wasn’t very much, but his determination was admirable. The boy smirked, face contorting into a taunting glare. “So you actually chased me? And to think I’d shaken you off back at the lab.”

The Chikorita didn’t answer, expression becoming stormy as the thief reached for a pokeball that was clipped to his belt. “That’s fine then. I’ll just have to teach you a lesson.” Wordlessly, he called out a Cyndaquil, who uncurled from its ball and looked around in confusion. “Where….” he looked over, spotting Geronimo. “Chikorita?” He took a few uncertain steps back, something like panic and confusion crossing his expression, along with baleful recognition.

“Smolder…” Geronimo’s eyes widened slightly, and he gaped up at the duo. The boy knew what he was doing. There was no way he could face one of his friends.

“Teach them a lesson, Cyndaquil. Use Ember!” the boy shouted, and the Cyndaquil immediately leapt into action, expression reluctant as he obeyed who he assumed was his master. Geronimo hastily dodged out of the way as a stream of hot ashes and flame rained down on the spot he had just been standing, leaving any nearby shrubbery singed.

“Callie!” Geronimo called over his shoulder as he continued to dodge attacks. “I need you to guide me.”

“Wh-What?” Callie, who had been watching the scene unfold wordlessly, snapped to attention.

“I need you to tell me what to do! It’s the most basic thing—“ he broke off as he dodged a tackle from the fire mouse. “—about being a Trainer! You can do that, yes?”

“Uh- y-yeah! I can!” Callie gave a determined grunt, getting into a battle stance while still clutching the egg, ignoring any pain she might have felt from the earlier fall. “Use….use tackle!”

The Chikorita nodded, smirking as he planted his feet firmly and shot forward, hitting square in Cyndaquil’s gut. The mouse fell back with a soft ‘oomph’, clutching its stomach.

The boy sneered at the mouse. “You’re not going down with just one tackle are you? Get back up!”

Cyndaquil staggered back to his feet, panting slightly, the fire on his back giving off smoke. By now, a small crowd had formed, watching the two teens battle.

“Use tackle! Give it a taste of its own medicine!” The thief commanded, and Cyndaquil obeyed, charging towards Geronimo and crashing into his shoulder, sending him skidding backwards. The dinosaur Pokemon planted his feet firmly in the ground to keep from staggering. He shoved the Cyndaquil off of him, flinching as the fire mouse used a Leer to keep him from retaliating.

“Uh….” Callie eyed the leaf on his head. “D...Don’t lose your momentum now! Use….Razor Leaf.”

Geronimo nodded, a look of determination on his face as he swung his head around, jumping behind the Cyndaquil and sending razor sharp leaves flying from the one on his head. They cut into the Cyndaquil, not doing very much damage because of its fire typing, but buying him enough time to recover and finish it with a last Tackle.

The boy scoffed, recalling his defeated Pokemon. “Your victory was a fluke.” he eyed the egg in Callie’s arms. “Keep the damn thing.” he hissed. “Whatever hatches from it will never be worth it.” And with that, the boy fled the scene.

Callie frowned, spotting something that glinted where he had just been standing. She picked it up. It had a picture of the boy’s face, as well as his general info, and….name!

 _Silver_ , it read. She bit back a mischievous grin, turning in the direction he had gone. “Hey Silver!” she called. “You dropped your trainer’s license!”

Immediately he came charging back through the crowd, thinly disguised shock on his face as he snatched it away from her. “Keep your hands off my stuff.” he snapped, before running away again. The crowd dispersed after that, having long since lost interest in the scene after the battle ended.

Callie turned to look at Geronimo. “Weird guy, right? Right….” she trailed off, noticing him swaying on his feet. The battle must’ve taken a lot out of him. “Oh, shit. We need to get you back to the lab! Elm is probably worried sick…”

“You think….” the Chikorita murmured, staggering over to her side. “It’s been awhile since I’ve battled like that.” he was talking more to himself than her. “I need to get in shape.”

“You know something....” Callie began, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face. “We make a pretty good team.”

Geronimo seemed to think about this for a moment, before his face too flickered into a small smile. “I guess we do.” Callie raised an arm and the Chikorita met it with a vine, a small gesture, but one that marked their comradery.

The two then set their sights back on the small town of New Bark, not forgetting the harrowing encounter from earlier, or the look that had flickered across Cyndaquil’s face when it had seen them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first chapter done, yay!!! it was a bit short but they might start progressively getting longer. i personally have trouble reading fanfic chapters that are *too* long thanks to my attention span and writing them gives me a bit of a headache so i figured that i’d spare you that, dear reader. as for callie’s outfit/appearance, just think of her as an emo lyra minus the hat. personally i’m not too big on overalls myself but if i HAD to wear them they would be black because it goes with everything.
> 
> ps, feel free to point out any typos/general errors in my story. i’m a fast typer.


	2. your new best friends

“So you’re saying this strange boy attacked you with the Pokémon he stole?” the policeman leaned over the table with a raised brow.

After Callie had entered the lab, she was almost immediately cornered by the officer, claiming that she had been the one who’d broken in. Elm quickly cleared these claims up, because his ‘dear friend and pupil’ would never stoop so low. He immediately backpedaled on this when he saw Geronimo, suddenly deciding that perhaps she had in fact, stolen the Chikorita, but Callie corrected him, trying her hardest not to lose her temper as she explained that she’d run into him trying to stop the real thief. She even gestured to the egg, having retrieved it from the boy. Everyone went quiet when Geronimo finally collapsed from his wounds.

So now Callie was here, being interrogated in Elm’s office while Geronimo was being treated in the lab’s infirmary.

She nodded to his question. “Luckily Geronimo— the Chikorita— helped me fight him off. And we got the egg back in the process.” She looked down at the egg she was holding in her lap. She had found herself unwilling to let go of it now that she had rescued it, chalking it up to some strange maternal instinct that had awakened. “I got his name too. Silver.” she couldn’t help but smirk at the memory of his reaction to her picking up the trainer card.

“I see.” the officer folded his arms. “Well— Callie, was it?— you’ve been a big help to our investigation. Rest assured we’ll have that thief behind bars in no time. As for now though….” he trailed off as the door clicked open and Elm walked inside, Geronimo trailing after him. The Chikorita seemed far better than he had back in Cherrygrove, eyes bright and leaf perked up slightly.

“Callie.” he nodded to her. “I see you’ve finished up your interrogations….” he looked to the officer. “You can take your leave. I’ll handle things from here.” the officer saluted once before exiting stiffly. Elm sighed. “Callie….” he began.

“I know, I know.” she slumped back into her chair. “I shouldn’t have gone after him like that, the authorities or whatever should’ve taken care of it.”

“Well, yes, but—“ he hesitated. “That isn’t what I was going to say. This Chikorita here told me that you’d shown great promise as a trainer. Is that right?” He looked down at Geronimo, who gave a confident nod. Elm chuckled. “He seems to have taken a liking to you. Which is why I want you to have this.” He handed her something, a black backpack with a pokeball belt inside, and along with it…..

Callie’s eyes widened in wonder. “My trainer card….”

“Yes.” Elm smiled fondly at her reaction. “I’d meant to give it to you earlier, of course, but you were...held up along the way.”

“Yeah….go on.”

“I went ahead and got you registered with the system, along with signing you up for the Pokemon League this year.”

“Really??” she bolted upright, holding onto the egg so it wouldn’t fall. “Ohh, thank you Elm!!” she would’ve been jumping for joy had it not been for the egg that was occupying her lap.

“And on top of that, I’ve registered Chikorita as your starter Pokémon. I hope you don’t mind.”

Callie smiled as she stared at Geronimo, who met her gaze evenly. A small smile appeared on his face in turn and he dipped his head.

“The belt I gave you has his pokeball on it as well as five empty ones, for you to catch what you please in.”

Callie stood up, setting the egg on the table as she clipped the belt to her waist. It was awkward, with her overalls, but it held snugly to her frame. She picked up the backpack and placed the egg inside, making sure it was secure.

Elm stared at her curiously. “You seem attached to that egg.”

“Well, yeah….” Callie suddenly felt shy. “I did save it. I...kinda feel like I have to protect it now.”

Elm nodded. “I see. If that’s the case, why don’t you travel with it for the time being? If it hatches, contact me right away and tell me what emerged.”

Callie nodded, slinging the backpack over her shoulders. “Will do!” since she already had Elm registered in her Pokégear, she had no need to get his info.

“I’ll contact your mother and tell her what happened. For now….” he smiled a little. “The first gym is in Violet City. You should get there late tonight or early tomorrow if you start now.”

Callie nodded again. She understood. She’d watched the league battles on tv since she was little, it almost felt like she’d taken this journey before. Of course now she’s experiencing everything for herself…..

Heading for the door now, Geronimo trailed after her, head held high, looking confident. Confident enough for the both of them. Elm watched them leave, bidding a last goodbye as they exited the lab and headed back for route 29.

“I guess we’ll have to cut back through Cherrygrove.” Callie murmured sometime into their walk. “Do you think that boy will still be hanging around?”

Geronimo shrugged. “Probably not, seeing how much attention he gathered from that battle. I’ll bet those officers have already issued a warrant for his arrest.”

Callie raised a brow, impressed by his knowledge of the human world, but not very surprised, seeing as how he’d spent most of his life around them. Instead of asking about that, she decided to ask a better question.

“How come you knew that Cyndaquil’s name? It only called you by your species name.”

“Oh. That’s a tough one.” Geronimo sniffed at the sky. “It’s a Pokémon custom. Names are a sign of trust, so we don’t usually give our names out to people we just met. But that Cyndaquil was young. He was caught as a wild Cyndaquil, which is a bit uncommon for beginner Pokémon like us, but he’s young enough that any trainer would have an easy time handling him. So I guess he’d just never been taught not to give out his name….”

“Smolder.” Callie uttered the Cyndaquil’s name, frowning a bit. “I wonder if he’ll tell Silver.”

“I doubt he would use it, even if he did. That guy was an asshole.” Geronimo rolled his eyes.

“Yeah. He was….” she furrowed his brow. What business did that boy have, stealing from the professor? He didn’t have any other Pokémon when they battled. If he’d wanted one, couldn’t he have just asked? She grew lost in thought, not even noticing when a Hoothoot landed on her head.

Toffee  
female Hoothoot  
met at level 3  
gentle nature, strong willed

“Hey, uh…” Geronimo raised a brow at her. “There’s a little something going on on your….”

“What? Oh!” Callie yelped at the extra weight on her head, waving her arms. The Hoothoot fluttered gently to the ground. “Hello!” she chirped. “Are you a human?”

“Uh…” Callie stared at it. “Yeah….”

“My name’s Toffee! I’m pleased to make your acquaintance!” the Hoothoot spoke in a soft Galarian accent, which confused her. Hoothoot could be found there, sure, but this was Johto. “Can I come with you? I’ve always wanted to see humans up close! I’m a really good battler, promise!”

“W-Well, I was kind of saving my pokeballs for—“ she was unable to finish as the Hoothoot hopped up to her, tapping one of the pokeballs on her belt with her beak. She was beamed inside and the ball immediately gave a click of confirmation without so much as a wiggle.

“Well…” Geronimo sighed, looking baffled. “That’s that, I guess.”

“Yeah….” Callie looked down at her belt. “I guess I have a Hoothoot now.”

The rest of the trip to Cherrygrove went by without a hitch. The wild Pokémon in the area were docile, and the group was rarely attacked, with any ambushes being quickly taken care of by Geronimo.

They didn’t encounter any trouble until the next route, when a Spinarak launched itself at Geronimo in a startling display, covering his face in string. “Ack!” He hissed, rearing backwards as he tried to shake the spider Pokémon off. “What gives!”

“You’re on my territory!” she hissed, fangs poised to bite his throat. Before that could happen, however, Callie lobbed a ball at the unsuspecting bug Pokémon, hitting her on the abdomen. Too startled to fight back, the Spinarak was caught without putting up much of a fight, though the indignant wiggles the ball occasionally made told the group that she was very much against being captured like this.

“Welcome to the team, Agatha.” Callie muttered, clipping the ball back to her belt.

Agatha  
female Spinarak  
met at level 2  
rash nature, somewhat vain

Shaken by the close encounter, Geronimo insisted he be let back into his ball to rest, to which Callie obliged, deciding to bring out Toffee instead, figuring the Hoothoot could use some training and the chance to stretch out her wings.

Ever the people pleaser, Toffee happily stayed by Callie’s side, flying just above her head through the darkening sky as they made their way towards Violet City. Most of the Pokémon they encountered were easily chased off by Toffee, who was eager to impress her new trainer.

This of course, changed when a Ratatta had attacked them, launching itself viciously at Callie instead of directing its attention at her Pokémon.

“Callie, no!” Toffee fluttered towards them hastily, scratching at the Ratatta mercilessly. “Leave my trainer alone!”

The Ratatta hissed ferally, turning on her and sinking its teeth into her leg. Toffee let out a screech of pain that rang out across the route, trying to shake it off but to no avail.

One of the balls on Callie’s belt clicked, and Geronimo was released. “Dammit,” he hissed. “Can’t even get some rest without everything going up in flames can I?” he fired a razor leaf at the Ratatta, scoring a direct hit that loosened its grip on Toffee’s leg enough for her to fling it into the trees. She came gliding back down towards her trainer, breathing heavily. Her wound bled onto the ground.

“O-Oh Arceus, she’s bleeding—!” Callie squeaked out, freezing up. “Wh-What do I do?? I didn’t know Pokémon could bleed! I—“

“Oh, really now.” Geronimo grumbled, reaching a vine into her bag and rummaging around until he pulled out a potion. He expertly maneuvered his vines to spray the potion onto Toffee’s leg, and within seconds the wound closed up, leaving nothing but a small scar. “Pokémon get hurt when they battle. And you know what happens when living things get hurt.”

“I know that!” Callie snapped. “I knew that humans bleed, at least, but Pokémon?” she frowned. “I guess all the blood was edited out on tv….”

“Yeah. It probably was.” Geronimo looked at the ground. “Humans like to glamorize everything. But the life of a Pokémon is a messy one. It’s spent battling over the smallest things, even the tiniest scraps of food. At least in the wild.”

Callie’s expression grew empathetic. “Oh. I see….”

Geronimo looked up at her. “Just be careful with us, okay? Pokémon battles aren’t as safe or as glamorous as the ones on your tv, or that battle you had with that red haired boy.”

“I-I understand.” Callie swallowed thickly and stood up, recalling Toffee as she did so. “I’ll be careful.” she tried not to let it show, but her excitement for their journey had begun to fade, replaced with a dull uneasiness. Pokémon battles could get dangerous, she knew this. But it was rare. Battles almost never got to that point. She’d be fine.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point the chapters might start getting progressively longer as things start to kick up. not too long though. i aim to write them as decently sized as i can manage if my attention span will allow.


	3. fighting 20ft long rock snakes is a bad idea unless you want a concussion

Dark Cave was, well, dark. It had earned its name.

“What are we here for?” Geronimo turned to ask Callie as they stood with uncertainty at the entrance.

“There’s a Pokémon here that’s supposed to be good against flying types. I want it for my gym battle!” Callie whispered, stepping into the cave eagerly. She didn’t get very far at all before something smacked into her face. She let out a girlish scream, falling backwards as she tried to swat it away.

“What are you? A human? What’s a human doing in this cave? You can’t see in the dark silly!” Whatever it was that was assaulting her face was annoying. Their stream of questions ceased as Geronimo grabbed them with his vines, holding them still. It was a Zubat covered in soft short blue fur, with large purple ears that swiveled at the tiniest sounds.

Valentine

male Zubat

met at level 2

quiet nature, good perseverance

“Ugh. It’s a Zubat.” Agatha hissed from Callie’s shoulder. At some point during their trip she had released herself from her ball and had perched herself on her trainer’s shoulders. Callie made a note to lock their balls later so this self-releasing behavior wasn’t encouraged. “Just get rid of him. They’re all like this. It’s annoying.”

Callie frowned, deciding it would be a good idea to do the exact opposite of what the Spinarak had told her to do, much to Agatha’s chagrin. The spider protested as Callie unclipped a ball from her belt, but she ignored her. “What’s your name?”

“Valentine. Charmed, I’m sure.” the Zubat offered her as charming a grin as he could muster, which just looked plain weird on the face of a creature like him. “I’m the most charismatic Zubat in Dark Cave. And my fur is so soft.” he would’ve winked if he had eyes. “The trainers who pass through here just  _ wish  _ they could capture the likes of myself but up until this moment I have avoided all attempts to—“

Valentine was cut off as he was beamed inside the ball Callie was holding. After just a couple of weak wiggles the ball clicked shut. It seemed as though the mammalian was less reluctant to be caught by a human than he let on.

  
  


They reached Violet City at around two in the morning. The Pokémon Center was empty except for Nurse Joy, who happily allowed them to rent a room for the night. As soon as Callie reached her bed she collapsed, burying herself in the pillows. On her way to the city, they had battled a bug catcher and his Weedle. The damned thing had poisoned Toffee, leaving her to grow increasingly weaker as they made haste for the Pokémon Center. Thankfully the Hoothoot had survived, but just barely, which earned the group a good scolding from Nurse Joy before she let them go up to their room. It was a stressful experience, but Callie was just glad that Toffee had survived.

She didn’t wake up until late the next morning, at around eleven. She decided to spend the first part of the day sightseeing. They’d done a lot of traveling the day before, so it couldn’t hurt to kick back a little bit. Right?

At some point, she’d met a boy named Rudy. It was less that she  _ met _ him and more like she’d encountered a commotion stirred up by him in the square…..

“Come on, Onix! You have to move!” the boy was pushing up against the rock snake’s hide as it dozed in the middle of a walkway, leaving a small crowd of onlookers and people who just wanted to get past to watch them in annoyance.

“What’s happening here?” Callie came up behind the crowd.

“It’s Rudy and his Onix.  _ Again. _ ” a tall girl in front of her said. “That thing never listens to him. I don’t know why he even bothers with it.”

“Why doesn’t he just call Onix back?”

She shrugged. “Beats me. Why not ask him?”

“Fine then….” Callie pushed her way to the front of the crowd, waving to get the boy’s attention. He walked over to her. “Look, I’m sorry if you want to get by. I promise this won’t happen again—“

“You said that yesterday!” Someone jeered from the crowd. This roused a chuckle from everyone else who was watching and Rudy let out a frustrated groan. “Listen, all I need to do is just catch him again, and then—“

“What do you mean  _ again _ ??” Callie asked flabbergasted. Rudy let out a frustrated sigh, curling his fists. “I was getting to that. I caught this Onix a few days ago, near another town. It was really aggressive and kept attacking anyone who passed by. I don’t know  _ why _ it’s so aggressive but it refuses to listen to me. It even broke the pokeball I caught it in and it just does whatever it wants now.” he looked back at the Onix, who was still asleep.

“I could try catching it.” Callie volunteered. Everyone turned their expecting gazes towards her and she shrank back nervously. “I-I mean— I can try….I need a rock type anyways.”

“I doubt it’ll listen to you either, but be my guess.” Rudy shrugged and stepped out of the way, letting Callie walk up to the Onix with a ball at the ready.

The Onix opened one eye and glared down at her. She tried not to feel intimidated by its size. She raised up her hand, getting ready to throw the ball. This action caused the Onix to uncurl itself, rearing up to its full height as it let out a roar, ducking its head to charge like a bull. Callie let out a scream, only just getting pulled to safety by Geronimo’s vines. The crowd scattered as Onix charged through them, crashing into a nearby building. Callie could only hope she wouldn’t have to pay for that since she was the one who provoked it in the first place.

“Whoa!” Rudy shouted, putting his hands to his head. “I’ve never seen it act like  _ that  _ before! How’d you manage to get it so angry?”

“I guess my presence has that effect on people!” Callie called back, yelping and diving out of the way as the Onix charged her again. All the while Agatha was clinging tightly to her overall straps. “Are you crazy??” she hissed. “Just catch the damn thing already and stop letting it—“ she broke off as Callie ducked to avoid its tail. “—attack us!”

“I’m trying!” her trainer snapped back. “Give me a secon—“ she broke off with a yell as the Onix crashed towards her, barely avoiding it in time. “Geronimo! Use your vines to hold it down!”

“I-I can try!” The Chikorita hesitantly lashed out his vines, securing the Onix as it thrashed about to try and shake him off. Callie took this opportunity to climb on its head, wrapping her arms around its horn. This caused the Onix to thrash around even more. All Pokémon had a blind spot, and Onix’s happened to be right on top of its head, where it was unable to turn and look. Grinning to herself, Callie slammed the pokeball onto its head in a way it couldn’t avoid. This was both a good and bad idea. Good because it couldn’t move out of the way between the vines and her being on its blind spot, and bad because it disappeared under her feet and as you know, Onixes are large Pokémon.

“Geronimo!” she screamed as she plummeted towards the ground. “Do something!” the Chikorita sighed, lashing out his vines to catch her before she splattered on the ground. He carefully set her down next to him. Agatha appeared on top of her head, looking completely frazzled. “ _ Never _ ,” she panted. “ _ Ever _ , do that again.”

“I’m….with you on that.” Callie slumped towards the ground, staring at the ball that now contained Onix. She hoped this would be worth it.

Rocky

male Onix

met at level 3

hasty nature, loves to eat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, my route 31 encounter was a bellsprout so i decided to trade it for the onix in violet city so hopefully i’d have an upper hand in the gym. my team isn’t exactly equipped to handle flying types so....i figured i’d need it. in any case, i thought that “hey lets trade” would be too boring so i turned it into a mini storyline. hope it suffices.


End file.
